MSMC Features

Knights in the Community Off to a Fast Start

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College athletic
department’s community service initiative, Knights in the
Community, kicked off the new school year with a pair of projects
over the weekend. The men’s tennis team painted a map of the United
States on the playground at Walden Elementary School, while the
men’s and women’s cross country teams stained playground equipment
at Chadwick Lake Park in Newburgh.

Seven members of the men’s tennis team gathered on Friday
afternoon to lend a hand to Walden Elementary School in Walden, New
York. With a giant stencil and five different colors of paint, the
team traced out a map of the United States and then painted the
states in alternating colors. The finished project stretched almost
forty feet in length across the playground.

The project was set up through Sharon Satkowski, a teacher at
Walden Elementary and also the mother of men’s tennis head coach
Justin Satkowski. Walden Elementary School principal Veronica
Casillo was instrumental in acquiring the supplies to complete the
map.

“We had a lot of fun with the project,” said Coach Satkowski.
“The guys enjoyed the opportunity to help out the school and make a
difference for the students and teachers.”

Also on Friday afternoon, the men’s and women’s cross country
teams were hard at work in Chadwick Lake Park. Seventeen members of
the teams pitched in to stain a large piece of wooden playground
equipment.

Rob Petrillo, Commissioner of the Town of Newburgh Recreation
Department, provided the paint, brushes, and rollers for the
afternoon.

“Our team uses Chadwick Lake Park as a home course, so it was
nice to lend a hand towards improving the park,” said cross country
head coach Fred Callo.

More community service projects are planned for the fall. The
men’s basketball team will host a food drive, the women’s soccer
team will be mentoring students from the Nora Cronin School, and
the men’s and women’s swimming teams will host a Boy Scout trip for
swimming lessons.